A Blog About Clogs in East Bay

Clogged drains are a common East Bay home plumbing issue, occurring when hair, waste, or food products-depending on the use of the drain-get stuck in the pipe, stopping water or waste from draining. You can deal with some clogs on your own, but for serious issues, you may need to call in a professional East Bay plumber.

One day, your shower, toilet, or kitchen sink is working just fine. The next, you take a shower, use the restroom, or wash the dishes and you’re left with dirty water that just won’t drain – or worse, is overflowing from the basin. What happened? Most likely, the drain is clogged with solid material-hair in the shower, waste and paper in the toilet, or food in the kitchen sink. Clogs start small but can get nasty fast, especially if you don’t deal with them in a timely fashion. There are a number of DIY fixes for minor drain clogs, but if you’ve exhausted your options or the problem is severe, you’ll need to call a professional East Bay plumber.

DIY Fixes

You can attack a clogged drain head-on using a standard plunger. Fill the basin with enough water to cover the plunger head, and then place the plunger over the affected drain so that it creates a seal. Pump the plunger up and down rapidly, forcing water in and out of the drain, and then pop it off to break the seal. Repeat, if necessary. This should loosen and flush away minor clogs. If plunging several times fails to loosen the blockage, purchase a chemical drain opener and use it as directed on the package. Be aware, however, that the caustic agents in chemical drain openers can actually harm some fixtures. If a plunger and a full container of drain opener don’t do the trick, it might be time to bring in an expert.

What the Pros Do

Professional East Bay plumbers have an array of tools in their arsenal to fight clogs. One of the most basic is the drain snake, also known as a drain auger. Plumbers spiral this long, flexible cable down into the pipe until it reaches the clog, displacing it. A more modern piece of plumbing technology is the hydro-jet, which is designed to blast through and eradicate pipe blockages. While a drain snake is generally effective on basic clogs, hydro-jetting can get rid of years of accumulated sludge inside your pipes.

Preventative Measures

Most East Bay plumbing systems will need occasional maintenance and professional drain cleaning, but you can take steps to decrease the frequency of clogged drains. In the kitchen, avoid pouring cooking grease down the drain, as it can accumulate and harden inside the pipe. If you have a garbage disposal, always flush it with water to keep food from sticking to the pipe. In the bathroom sink and shower, use drain stoppers or strainers to keep hair and other materials from going down the drain. Only flush items down the toilet that are labeled “flushable.” Anything else may clog the plumbing. And finally, always address minor clogs before they become complete blockages. When you notice your water draining more slowly than usual, especially if it gets a little worse each day, it’s time to take action.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Penny_Q_Jones

For the longest time, identifying issues within your home's sewer or plumbing systems consisted of a great deal of guesswork and could often result in a great deal of damage to your home in the process. Fortunately, with advancements in technology over recent years, the process of identifying plumbing and sewer line issues within the home have become easier, faster, and more accurate than ever, and it's thanks in large part to the accessibility of video inspection services. With so much of your plumbing system hidden from view, identifying plumbing issues was always a bit difficult, but with video inspections, we are able to give your plumbing system a more thorough inspection than ever before, and all without having to take apart your plumbing to do so. To help highlight just a few of the benefits offered by video inspections for your home's plumbing and sewer system, our team of professionalRead More

Now that spring has finally arrived, many homeowners are choosing to get outside and tackle that long list of outdoor projects that have been on hold over the course of the winter. Even tho the milder weather and temperatures make this time of year ideal for tackling those outdoor improvements, it is important that you don't forget about the other vital aspects of your home that you can't see during this time of year, like your plumbing system. While it might not seem like spring is a time of year where you need to be overly concerned about something going wrong with your plumbing system, there are several plumbing issues that tend to be more common during this time of year, and it pays to know what you should be on the lookout for, and what you can do to keep these issues from getting out of hand. To help you in this, our team of professionals have taken the time to put together this short article highlighting exactly what some of these issues are, and what you can do to keep them in check.
Check Your Bathrooms
Leaking toilets are always an issue to be on the lookout for, but we tend to get more calls about them in spring than at other times of the year. While water leaking from the tank into the bowl isn't usually going to be overly harmful to your home, this constant usage can start to add up over time, and can make a dramatic impact when it comes to your monthly water bills over time. The most effective method of checking for these leaks is to put a few drops of food coloring into you toilet's tank and let it sit for about half an hour. After that time, if you notice that the water in your toilet bowl has changed color, it's a pretty clear-cut sign that there is an issue with at least one of the components in your reservoir. From here, the best course of action is to call in a plumbing professional who can get to the bottom of the issue and get it resolved for you so you stop losing water unnecessarily.
Protect Your Sewer Lines From Growing Roots
Spring is the time for growing, whether its your grass, your garden, or the trees around your property, and as the weather continues to warm up, everything is going to start spreading its roots and searching for water. In the case of trees, this can be particularly problematic as their roots sometimes have a tendency to work their way into your plumbing lines through cracks or damages in their search. Tree roots can cause serious blockages if they find their way into your plumbing lines, not to mention the damage they can cause in the process, so this spring, you will want to make sure that your have your underground pipes inspected and serviced to ensure they aren't at risk of having tree roots invade as the weather continues to heat up in the coming months.
Inspect Your Faucets
Leaking faucets can be a nuisance for more reasons that just the constant dripping sound they make. Depending on the severity of your leak, a leaking faucet can have a fairly large impact over time on your water bills, especially if you have more than one faucet that's doing it. This spring, make sure that your check for moisture in the areas around your faucets, as oftentimes they can develop a leak that is hidden from sight, especially in cases where they run under your sink or cabinets, and if you find any, call in a plumbing professionals as soon as possible to find the source of the leak and put a stop to it.
If you are looking for a professional Brentwood plumber, give us a call today at 925-470-0142 or fill out our online request form.Read More